Subject Ninety-seven

THE RESULT OF RECEIVING THE LORD

Scripture: John 1:11-13

1. The Lord came into mankind
   1. The Lord is God. He became man and dwelt among men.
   2. Today, the Lord is still coming to mankind by His Spirit and His Gospel.
2. Man receiving the Lord
   1. The Lord came into mankind for men to receive Him, that is, that He would be enjoyed by men.
   2. To receive the Lord does not require either the seeing with our physical eyes or the touching with our physical hands. It only requires the believing in the heart.
   3. To believe in the heart means to believe by hearing, and to believe by hearing is all that is necessary. Verse 12 says, “But as many as received Him...to those who believe in His name.” Thus, to believe by hearing is just to receive Him.
   4. It is very difficult for man to see the Lord, or to meet Him. Yet, to hear His name is the easiest thing. To receive the Lord is to believe in His name with the heart. Therefore, it is possible for anyone to receive the Lord at any time and at any place. This point is important. One can receive the Lord when he is washing his face, on the bus, or even when hearing this word.
3. The result of receiving the Lord
   1. To be born of God. The Lord is God become flesh. When we received Him, He came into our being, that is, God came into us to become our life. Since we have the life of God in us, therefore we were born of God.
   2. To have the life of God. Because we were born of God, naturally we have received His life. This life is our right to enjoy all the portions of God. A child who was born in the royal family has the life of the royal family, and this life is his right to enjoy all the portions of the royal family.
   3. To be the children of God. We were originally just the creatures of God, having our origin from God, yet we did not have God’s life and God’s nature. Our relationship with God was just a relationship between a creator and the creatures, without the relationship of the Father and the children. Once we received the Lord, our relationship to Him advanced from that of the creatures to that of the children. Once we have the life of God, we can enjoy all the portions in the Father’s house.